


A Life Sentence

by Bluewolf458



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2015-07-20
Packaged: 2018-04-10 07:14:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4382312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Bluewolf458
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim and Blair discuss 'a life sentence'</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Life Sentence

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Sentinel Thursday prompt 'the meaning of life'

A Life Sentence

by Bluewolf

Blair shook his head, a gesture that indicated a combination of so many emotions, from disbelief to resignation - and Jim could only agree with him as the news summary finished and he switched the TV off. The evening's big news was the release on parole of a man found guilty of several particularly gruesome murders some twenty years previously.

"What _should_ a judge mean when he sentences someone to 'life'?" Blair asked, and if ever Jim had ever heard a rhetorical question, that was it.

"It should mean 'life'," Jim said. "It should mean that the criminal is never released, no matter how long he lives. But parole boards seem to fall over themselves to let someone out after only a few years, whatever they've done... and the ones who deserve parole so often are the ones who don't get it, while the more hardened criminals know how to play the system, lie through their teeth and do get out. And often go straight back into a life of crime. Offend again within days.

"And then there's 'released early for good behavior'," Jim went on. "Easy for some of those cons to behave well while they're in prison - they're not in a position to repeat whatever they went to prison for doing. Once they get out, though... "

"And with some of them it's... well, a compulsion," Blair added, memory of his psychology classes surfacing. "They've had no outlet for that compulsion while they've been in prison, and once temptation is there in front of them again, what can they do but succumb?"

"Though I don't remember ever seeing that kind of behavior when I was with the Chopek," Jim said. "I don't say there wasn't crime of a sort, there was, but nothing... well, psychotic."

"Tribes like the Chopek have certain expectations when it comes to things like kids and child rearing," Blair said, going off at an apparent tangent. "A child might be indulged, even spoiled, until he reaches a certain age - but even then he knows that 'spoiling' is for babies; once he reaches that age he's no longer a baby, he's a young adult and expected to work for the benefit of the tribe. He'll be given a small bow with arrows, be shown how to use it, and then even when he's 'playing' he'll be trying to shoot something he can take home to add to dinner. He grows up knowing that co-operation is admired by the tribe, that the successful hunter has status.

"In our 'civilised' world... how many workers feel appreciated by their bosses? In a lot of cases they wouldn't even know their boss if he sat at the canteen table with them. Is it any wonder that some of them are dissatisfied? Or school - not everyone is academically minded, but schools put all their emphasis on academic success. Is it any wonder that kids who aren't academically minded, or good at sports, and whose interests lie in other directions - like craft work, carpentry, etc - get dissatisfied? They start to look for some way to 'prove' themselves, even if it's only to themselves.

"And tribes like the Chopek don't neglect their kids. And I don't just mean ignoring their material needs - neglect can go the other way. Plenty of toys, nice clothes, food... but no emotional attention, no love. Nobody making them feel that they matter. I didn't have much in the way of possessions when I was growing up - well, moving around the way Naomi did, there wasn't any way we could amass much; but if food was, for any reason, scarce, I wasn't the one who went hungry. That told me very clearly that I was loved.

"A lot of the time, criminals put more effort into crime than they'd need to put into living a law-abiding, worthwhile life - but if they did that, they wouldn't be noticed. As a criminal, what they do is noticed.

"That's what they want, Jim - what they need, emotionally, is to be noticed. Even getting a so-called life sentence - in its own way that's getting them noticed by the other prisoners. 'He's in for life' is so much more impressive in the world of the captured criminal than 'He got five years'." He thought for a moment. "Actually, though, tribes like the Chopek have their own version of a life sentence, if the chief and the shaman feel that someone has endangered the tribe, the welfare of the tribe - banishment. Someone who's banished might find another tribe willing to take him in, but it's unlikely. Someone living on his own in the jungle? Why? There has to be a reason... He could say that his village was attacked and everyone else killed, that he escaped because he was out hunting - and although they usually do hunt in groups, occasionally one does go out alone - in which case he might be granted provisional acceptance, but he'd be watched, never totally trusted, just in case... And that really is a life sentence. Can you imagine going through life knowing that whatever you do, as long as you live nobody is ever going to totally trust you? It's a strong motivation to stay honest."

"But criminals know they aren't trusted by society," Jim objected.

"It's a different sort of trust," Blair said. "With the Chopek - they knew where you came from, why you were alone. The shaman accepted you. Do you understand just how big a deal that was?"

"If he hadn't... " Jim began slowly.

"The tribe would always have been just a little suspicious because you were a stranger. You would never have become one of them. But you did, didn't you?"

"Yes... I think... I thought it was because I was a sentinel... "

"Oh, that would certainly help too. Unlike 'civilized' man, those tribes value sentinels. Sentinels make their lives easier. But just being a sentinel wouldn't have been enough. It took the acceptance of the shaman, who would _know_... "

"But if someone did something bad enough for him to be banished, wouldn't that tribe's shaman be blamed for not identifying him before he committed whatever crime he was guilty of?"

"No, because he wouldn't have had reason to study the hearts of the people in his tribe. But a stranger? He would certainly be blamed if he accepted a stranger who then committed a crime, because he would be expected to read the heart of a stranger."

"I owe Incacha so much... so why did I forget so much of my time with the Chopek? Even when I was debriefed, really all I could remember was working with them to defend the Chopek Pass... Even my senses... Until you came. Then I began to remember. And the senses came back."

"I'd guess Incacha made you forget; knew it would be safer for you if you forgot - until you met your guide, back in your own land. Remember, I was here, but I needed a reason to meet you."

"Possibly... but Chief, this being my guide - it's a life sentence for you."

Blair grinned. "Do you see me objecting?"

"But there's so much you wanted to do, so much you're having to give up - like that trip to Borneo."

"Jim, I was flattered that Eli wanted me, and yes, if I'd never met you I'd have been happy to have had that year working with him. But when it came down to it, I realized that what I had with you was so much more than I'd have had going to Borneo. There was no way I could desert my friend for a year. There's no way I will ever desert you. But if you want rid of me for any reason - genuinely want rid of me - say so and I'll leave, because I only want what's best for you."

"Chief... " Jim took the step that separated them and pulled Blair into his arms. Blair leaned his head against Jim's shoulder, but when he felt the gentle kiss on his forehead he looked up, and Jim's next kiss brushed Blair's lips.

Blair smiled, and the next kiss was firmer and rapidly gained in passion.

"I love you, Chief... Blair... "

"And I love you, Jim."

"Come upstairs?"

"Just for tonight?"

"If that's what you want. But I'd like it to be permanent."

"So would I."

They exchanged another kiss, and then hand in hand they went up the stairs to Jim's bed.

 


End file.
